Magic Mates: “The Alchemy” Song Meaning, Line By Line

In The Alchemy, Taylor compares her compatibility with a new mate to a magical transformation. 

The themes of fate, karma, chemistry, and rebirth weave throughout the lyrics to paint an optimistic picture of this new relationship. 

What does “the alchemy” mean, what’s with all the football metaphors, and what can we learn about Taylor’s inner world in this song? 

Here’s my full English teacher dissection of Taylor’s The Alchemy song meaning, line by line and metaphor by metaphor.

The Alchemy by Taylor Swift

  • Title: The Alchemy
  • Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
  • Track: 15, The Tortured Poets Department
  • Pen: Fountain 
  • Lyrics from Genius

The Alchemy Lyrics Meaning: Narrative Summary

  • Setting: Inside a thrilling new relationship. 
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (“he”, “you”) 
  • Mood: Elated, celebratory, karmic. 
  • Conflict: “I haven’t come around in so long” (this is all new and foreign). 
  • Inciting Incident: “These chemicals hit me like white wine” (she’s in the Lavender Haze of new love). 
  • Quest: “Get the crown” (make this new love last). 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: “the alchemy”, “every few lifetimes,” “chemicals hit me like white wine,” “I’m back,” “The hospital,” “worst sleep I ever had,” “circled you on a map,” “haven’t come around in so long,” “coming back so strong,” “touch down,” “amateurs,” “cut ‘em from the team,” “clowns,” “crown,” “one to beat,” “sign on your heart,” “we’re cool,” “child’s play back in school,” “under my rule,” “where I belong,” “blokes warm the benches,” “Winning streak,” “heroin but this time with an ‘e’,” “greatest in the league,” “trophy.” 
  • Lesson: Sometimes – but very rarely – love wins. 

What is The Alchemy About? 

The Alchemy describes a new and thrilling romance using sports, schoolyard and drug metaphors. 

Alchemy is the process of turning base metals into gold, and Taylor uses this comparison to describe this new love as a rare treasure that was destined to work out. 

But “alchemy” also means a kind of miraculous transformation, that’s so rare and potent that it borders on magical. Both definitions are equally applicable to Taylor’s central metaphor.

Who is The Alchemy About? 

Most fans assume that this track is about Travis Kelce, due to Taylor’s use of football metaphors.

“These blokes warm the benches” could refer to her British exes, Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. 

But moreover, this song is about that magical feeling of early love, when everything is optimistic, and it feels like it will last forever.

The Alchemy Lyrics Explained: Line by Line

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Alchemy" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The first verse reads: "This happens once every few lifetimes

These chemicals hit me like white wine

What if I told you I'm back?

The hospital was a drag

Worst sleep that I ever had

I circled you on a map

I haven't come around in so long

But I'm coming back so strong"

“This happens once every few lifetimes,” she says in the first verse. This is a rare occurrence, when “These chemicals hit me like white wine.” 

“These chemicals” is likely the dopamine rush of a crush or a new love. Love as a drug is a common Taylor metaphor, like in Don’t Blame Me, death by a thousand cuts, Blank Space, Glitch, Hits Different, Florida!!!, and more. 

Here, the rush of love hits her “like white wine,” which is very different from liquor or red wine. Red wine – as described in Maroon – is dark and staining. But white wine is celebratory, light, and refreshing. This new love is all those things. 

“What if I told you I’m back?” she asks her lover or her audience, “The hospital was a drag.” She’s re-emerged from the mental asylum she entered in Hits Different and Fortnight, coming out from under a difficult heartbreak. 

“Worst sleep that I ever had,” she says of her time inside. “Worst sleep” could be a euphemism for being bad in bed, but it could also refer to her long, sleepless nights of Midnights. She’s done with her dark nights of rumination, and out into the daylight once again. 

“I circled you on a map,” she says of her lover, marking her destination and making her way to him. (There’s a side joke here about Taylor “putting Travis on the map,” which proliferated on socials when they first got together).

“I haven’t come around in so long,” she says of her destination – her next great love – “But I’m coming back so strong.”

“Coming” could also be a euphemism, but the general vibe here is that she hasn’t had something happy for a long time. She’s ready for positive change, and she’s excited about it. 

Chorus: “Ditch The Clowns, Get The Crown”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Alchemy" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The chorus reads: "So when I touch down

Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team

Ditch the clowns, get the crown

Baby, I'm the one to beat

'Cause the sign on your heart

Said it's still reserved for me

Honestly, who are we to fight thе alchemy?"

“So when I touch down,” she says, arriving in her new destination (her new relationship), “Call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.” 

The football metaphor likely points to Travis Kelce as the subject. “Touch down” could be a euphemism for an orgasm, but it could also refer to her plane metaphorically touching down. She’s arrived in the world of her new lover, ready to start fresh. 

“The amateurs” are those who came before, and they were nothing compared to this new love. “Cut ‘em from the team” means to ditch all her past lovers and focus solely on this new one. 

“Ditch the clowns, get the crown,” she says, “Baby, I’m the one to beat.” Get rid of the circus freaks (maybe the sideshow act “the smallest man who ever lived”?), and go for the ultimate prize. “The crown” alludes to a prom king and queen: they’ll be the stars of the “school.” 

“’Cause the sign on your heart / Said it’s still reserved for me,” she says, proudly proclaiming that his man is faithful and committed. He’s all hers, and she’s all his. The “sign on your heart” could allude to a football jersey, metaphorically marked with her stamp of ownership. 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

“Honestly, who are we to fight thе alchemy?” she asks him. Alchemy is science that turns base metals into the most precious metal: gold. But it also sometimes means something mystical and magical, and here she likely means both. 

This attraction and compatibility is so strong that they can’t deny it. Remembering Taylor’s definition of love from Daylight: “I thought love would be black and white, but it’s golden,” their love is destined to become golden. 

Like the Invisible String, some mystical, karmic force has drawn them together, and they can’t fight destiny. 

Verse 2: “That Child’s Play Back in School”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Alchemy" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The 2nd verse reads: "Hey, you, what if I told you we'rе cool?

That child's play back in school

Is forgiven under my rule

I haven't come around in so long

But I'm making a comeback to where I belong"

“Hey, you,” she says in the second verse, “what if I told you we’rе cool?” Here, she likely addresses her exes or enemies. ‘It’s all good now,’ she says, ‘there’s no more beef’. 

“That child’s play back in school,” she says of their past youthful indiscretions, “Is forgiven under my rule.” As the reigning Queen of the grownup “schoolyard” (her life, the music industry, the celebrity machine), she proclaims that the past has passed. 

“I haven’t come around in so long,” she says of her past. She hasn’t been to this place – this Lavender Haze of love – in too long. 

But this could also allude to the Eras Tour – the first tour she’s had in years – or her re-emergence into the public eye after years locked in her “cage” with her London Boy.

“But I’m making a comeback to where I belong,” she says, taking her rightful place at the head of the school. In her metaphorical high school world, she’s coming back from summer vacation and will skip to the head of the class. 

She’ll take back her place as prom queen, with her new prom king by her side. 

2nd Chorus: “These Bloke Warm The Benches”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Alchemy" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The 2nd half of the 2nd chorus reads: "These blokes warm the benches

We've been on a winning streak

He jokes that it's heroin, but this time with an "E"

'Cause the sign on your heart

Said it's still reserved for me

Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?"

The first part of the chorus repeats, then she says, “These blokes warm the benches.”

“These blokes” is likely a reference to her British exes, as “bloke” is a common term in the UK for a man. They were only placeholders, she says, and now she’s kicking them off the metaphoric team. 

“We’ve been on a winning streak” means that their relationship is going in the right direction. They “win” at every turn, and together, their “team” can conquer anything. 

“He jokes that it’s heroin,” she says, “but this time with an ‘E’.” Their love is like a drug, as referenced in “chemicals hit me like white wine.” But this time, it won’t cause a downward spiral like a street drug.

She’s both his “heroin” (his addiction) and his “heroine” (his savior). 

“Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?” she asks. Who are they to fight temptation for this “drug”? They’re merciless against their addiction, because it was preordained. It was fated. 

Bridge: “He Just Comes Runnin’ Over to Me”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Alchemy" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The bridge reads: "Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads

Beer stickin' to the floor, cheers chanted 'cause they said

"There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league"

Where's the trophy? He just comes runnin' over to me"

The bridge describes a celebration for winning at the game of love. 

“Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads,” she says, describing a celebration. “Shirts off” could describe an intimate moment, but it could also simply be a crazy moment of fun. 

They “lift you up over their heads,” meaning they celebrate him and his winning “touchdown.” He scored the girl of his dreams. 

“Beer stickin’ to the floor,” she says of this celebration, “cheers chanted ’cause they said / ‘There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league’.”

This celebration is so big and so happy because they were the underdogs. There was no chance trying to win the heart of this queen, but he did it. He scored. 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

“Where’s the trophy?” she asks, “He just comes runnin’ over to me.” She is the trophy that he’s won, and everyone around them cheers and celebrates. 

The bridge could describe the iconic moment that The Chiefs won the Superbowl, but Taylor uses this celebration more as a metaphor. All the hard work, all the heartbreaks, and all the bench-warmers culminated in this singular success.

Their “team” won, and their team is true love. 

Outro: “Once Every Few Lifetimes”

“This happens once every few lifetimes

These chemicals hit me like white wine”

-Taylor Swift, “The Alchemy”

The chorus repeats, then the outro circles back to the first verse, framing the narrative. 

“This happens once every few lifetimes,” she repeats, “These chemicals hit me like white wine.” This is rare, and she’s intoxicated by this new love. 

She wants to remember it, and wants to treasure it. This moment won’t come back around again, she reminds herself, and you can’t win every game.

There will be times when you lose, so when the winning happens, celebrate with all your might. 

The Alchemy Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts 

This song uses a bunch of mixed metaphors: drugs, sports, the schoolyard, science, and magic. It’s a bit of a hodge-podge of literary devices, so what’s the overall message? 

It’s rare. It’s rare that your team wins every single time, when that magical combination of players makes all the right moves. It’s miraculous, like alchemy, and everything has to fall into place at exactly the right time. 

She realizes that this might not happen again, so she treasures it like gold, and wonders if it can last. 

More Songs From The Tortured Poets Department

Similar Posts